The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), which is conducted to select Class X students for scholarship till they complete higher studies, has been postponed in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has issued a notice to postpone stage-II of the test, which was supposed to be held on June 13. Stage-I of the exam is conducted at the state level while stage-II is held at the national level.
The NCERT has a state-wise quota system while allowing the stage-I qualified students. The stage-I exam has already been held.
Students qualifying in stage-II get Rs 1,250 per month in Classes XI and XII and Rs 2,000 at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Students of St Stephen’s College have urged the authorities to cancel the proposed online exams and adopt an alternative method of assessment in view of the acute distress caused by the pandemic.
The college was supposed to start the semester exams for second-year and third-year undergraduate students from May 15 and 18, respectively, but has deferred it by two weeks. A new notice on the exams is expected to be issued.
A petition endorsed by 418 students has been sent to principal John Varghese urging him to consider performance in internal assessments and/or previous semesters for the evaluation. The college has around 1,200 students.